Harris v. Gov't of the Virgin Islands

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(September 16, 2011)

In 1996, a jury convicted five men of a murder that only four committed. Appellant Pedro Harris was the odd man out. The verdict against Harris rested .upon a surprise identification during the trial by a witness that has since recanted. Though the prosecutor knew, or should have known, that the identification lacked credibility, he relied on it blindly in pursuit of a conviction. Harris remains incarcerated, without having received a new trial, because the trial court failed to adequately review the witness’s credibility and committed legal error when it…